


Misery

by Pharmockery



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, F/M, Hades is Sad But Also Mad, Like always Cerberus is the Goodest Boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22517944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pharmockery/pseuds/Pharmockery
Summary: "“What do you know of misery, boy?”Lord Hades knows of misery. He knows of it firsthand.OrLord Hades finds her gone.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone, Hades/Persephone (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 71





	Misery

_“Miserable husk of a man!”_

_The boys shout runs out across the makeshift arena, making the Lord of the Dead’s lip curl. Misery? Misery?! What did Prince Zagreus, who grew up as a godling, and knew nothing of the cruelty of the world above, know of that?_

_“What do_ you _know of misery, boy?”_

_Lord Hades knows of misery. He knows of it first-hand._

* * *

He found the letter next to him, folded neatly on the soft blankets of his bed. It smelled floral—of lavender, he thought, one of her favourites. Frowning, he looked around, brow furrowed as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. It was not often that the House of Hades slept, but when they did, the peaceful workings of Hypnos ensured they slept deeply, and did not awaken.

She must have stirred earlier than he, Hades decided, as he reached for the letter. Perhaps to tend to Cerberus. A ghost of a smile skirted across his lips as he pictured that scenario. A ghost of a smile that faded as his eyes ran across the words on the page.

His hands shook, as he read and reread the letter again.

_“Hades: I can no longer tolerate my life here in this place…”_

It was wrong, it was all wrong.

_“…So, I am leaving, even if it kills me…”_

There was a lump in his throat and wetness in his eyes—that couldn’t happen, it wouldn’t, he would never let it.

_“… I won’t be returning to Olympus_ …”

They didn’t deserve her, no one deserved her, not even _he_ ; could she have realised that?

“ _…If there is a place where I belong in this world, it must be somewhere between heaven and hell…”_

She belonged there, in the House, with him, with Cerberus, not out there. At his side, in his arms, _in his heart_ , but no…

_“…Perhaps it’s on the coast and has a little garden…”_

There was a pounding in his head, and a rushing in his ears, and his chest felt like it would crumble in on itself. His teeth grit together, the breaths coming hard and fast as he read the last line once more.

“ _Take care of Cerberus; I shall miss him_.”

But not he, a small voice in the back of Hades mind reminded him. Not her husband. It was the same voice that suggested she had finally realised she deserved _more_ , the same voice that noted she had _tolerated_ her life here; tolerated their House, tolerated their servants, tolerated _him_.

He bit back a choked howl, standing. The letter fluttered to the floor at his feet, the smell of lavender nauseating him. Hades staggered, reaching for the marble arch of the doorframe, and wrenching the wooden portal open. It made a - _crack-_ as he pulled it too hard, and he stumbled from the room. There was no one around the main hall, but for Hypnos, snoring whilst standing straight upright, and Cerberus, who lifted his heads and whined as he watched his master stumble forward.

“Cerberus, did you see her…? She’s…” Hades fell to his knees before the three-headed hound, staring at the fine marble floor as Cerberus whined once more.

The rough texture of the hound’s tongue scraped along Hades’ cheek, and shakily, the Lord of the Dead stood. The hellhound did too, nudging his left-most head into the palm of his master’s hand, the right-most head huffing warily, and the middle head looking at him.   
Hades wished the hound could speak—that he would tell him where she had gone, _when_ she had gone.

Cerberus whined again, one of the heads nudging Hades back towards his chambers. Mutely, Hades could understand the concern; it would not do for the House to awaken and find their Lord Hades despondent and weeping upon the Great Hall floor.  
He willed his legs to move, carrying him back to his chambers. Even if he knew where she had gone, he could not chase her. His duty, like a dead weight, tied him to the House, even if some deep part of him wanted to break free and seek her out, fall down upon his knees before her and beg her to return.

That part of him was _weak_.

Cerberus nudged him back to his chambers, sitting determinedly down before the doors as Hades tugged the broken wood back into place.

He did not make it to his bed before his legs gave out again—like pillars of sand, they crumbled beneath him and sent him onto his knees once more as he let out an anguished shout, unconcealed and raw. His head was pounding, and his chest felt tight, and _he’d driven her away, he always knew he would, for she would rather the cruelty of the world than another minute with_ him.

The letter was still on the floor; he could not bear to look at it, throwing it away into a dark corner as he pounded his fists on the floor like a child, before stilling, simply staring at his knees for what seemed to him like hours.

How _could_ she— to just leave, to not even _tell_ him, to simply write a note _…_

Something cold clicked into place in his head. A puzzle piece, finally slotting into the last gap.

She had once said that he was _cold and cruel_ , but truly, what was crueller than leaving him here, alone, with only a letter to say goodbye? He was not beholden to her; he was _Lord Hades_ , he had helped overthrow the Titans…! He did not _need_ her… The softness she had inspired in him was _weakness_ ; for her to remove it from him was practically a _favour_.

His eyes scanned the room, falling on each one of the items she had left. She had taken nothing, wanted no trace of his existence with her, and now his lip curled in cold fury as he beheld each one. Closest was a scarf—a _gift_ , he remembered, something he had bought for her that she had _pretended_ to like, her eyes lighting up in false delight, showering fake kisses upon his brow. Hades reached for it, grabbing it roughly, before tearing it harshly in two.

The delicate material fell with ease, the beautiful pattern ruined as he flung each part into the barely burning hearth at the side of his chambers. Then the neatly arranged contents of her chests, keepsakes, clothes, and trinkets alike meeting the fire equally. Delicate glass was cracked by the heaviness of his hands, black blood welling up momentarily before each small cut healed itself.

A fire burned within Lord Hades, for each artefact recalled a memory; her smile, her laugh, her embrace, and with each one he worked with greater fervour. There would be no trace of her. Nothing that would bring those treacherous memories, full of falsehoods, back to the forefront of his mind.

He could not recall how much time had passed since he began, and he didn’t care. He would remove every trace of her. He would not have her name spoken before him. He would not have her presence _referenced_. This, he decided, was his revenge; for if she had been so callous as to abandon him, he would finish the work. She sought to be free of the House? Free of him, and the _torture_ , and _misery_ , that it had brought? So be it.

He did not care. _Would_ not care. He had a duty, and a House to run, and so much _work_ , and she had delayed him in that work anyway. Every lying kiss, every false embrace had delayed him.

He hated her. Yes, that was it. He _hated_ her.

Lord Hades hated the woman who had once been his Queen; _but he would give anything to have her back_.

* * *

_The boy falls at the point of his spear, letting out a gurgling yell as his Lord Father gazes at him dispassionately. Those damned mismatched eyes look at him, and Lord Hades’ scowl deepens. The pain is so fresh when he sees the boy; he sees her damned emerald eyes gazing at him with hate. The misery is there, all over again._

_What does spoiled Prince Zagreus know of misery, when he is the one causing it?_

**Author's Note:**

> This was really hard to write and I'm still not entirely happy with it but you know what? The Hades section needs more fics and I have nothing to lose.


End file.
